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Sounds great! I'll send you a PM and we can work out some details' date=' and also figure out how we'd like to invite people from here. My suggestion, to keep things as private and safe as possible would be to ask for PMs from anyone interested in attending but we can talk that out and see what sounds best.

Thanks for the info - it appears the support groups are for patients only, though. Do you know if they're open to people that didn't use their practice? I know you can bring guests, but I wonder if that's more so that you can bring in someone pre-op that might be interested. I can give them a ring, but you may know the answer from experience.

~Cheri[/quote']

Hi Cheri, I know there are a few that used Kiser and come to the support group and mentioned that will see me next time so I am not real sure, you can call to verify.

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And how far are people willing to drive? For instance, to get this started, I'm willing to host a sort of sleeve open house at my place (I'm in Alexandria, south of Old Town, not far off Rt. 1) if someone else will take over and offer to host (either at their place or in public) the next one.

I'm in Southern MD so I can do DC, VA (trying not to go farther than Alexandria/Arlington), and MD (trying not to go farther north than Bowie/Crofton).

I don't mind hosting at my house either. Lots of parking but I'm in the sticks so you'd have to not mind driving to Charles County. Also, we have a lot of places in our county to host that are public. I think if we rotate, that way all the DC, VA, MD folks can attend at least one close to them, that would be great to.

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I'm in Southern MD so I can do DC, VA (trying not to go farther than Alexandria/Arlington), and MD (trying not to go farther north than Bowie/Crofton).

I don't mind hosting at my house either. Lots of parking but I'm in the sticks so you'd have to not mind driving to Charles County. Also, we have a lot of places in our county to host that are public. I think if we rotate, that way all the DC, VA, MD folks can attend at least one close to them, that would be great to.

There's a bit of discussion going on the FB page Joia set up, so please join if you're able.

We're talking about doing a public meeting later this month at a restaurant in MD. From that point onward, we'll allow people to rotate hosting however they choose and a variety of locations is definitely a great idea.

I've particularly enjoyed your contributions to VST so far, so I hope that you can make an in person meeting!

~Cheri

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I'm in Southern MD so I can do DC' date=' VA (trying not to go farther than Alexandria/Arlington), and MD (trying not to go farther north than Bowie/Crofton).

I don't mind hosting at my house either. Lots of parking but I'm in the sticks so you'd have to not mind driving to Charles County. Also, we have a lot of places in our county to host that are public. I think if we rotate, that way all the DC, VA, MD folks can attend at least one close to them, that would be great to.[/quote']

Join our group!!!

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We've decided to create a "secret" Facebook group (only those in the group can see who's in the group' date=' the posts, etc.) to help facilitate our local support group - join us if you would like to find out about these events!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/522087934530500/

Bumping to the end :)

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Add me to the group please: cheryle Mattia Holmes. Cheryleholmes at comcast.net

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Hi Everyone.. A little confuse.. Is there a support group being setup in PG. if so , I would like to join. Assan101103@yahoo.com.

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Join our group (link above) if you're on Facebook. Our first live meet-up is this Sunday (August 24) in Montgomery County, MD!

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Hey everyone, I had my VSG on Aug 21 @ HUH by Dr. Tran in DC. He is the absolute nicest and most patient, answers any and all questions I may have.

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Hey everyone' date=' I had my VSG on Aug 21 @ HUH by Dr. Tran in DC. He is the absolute nicest and most patient, answers any and all questions I may have.[/quote']

How were you approved? Was it self pay or through insurance? I have blue cross blue shield *** and can switch it up to PoS but was told bcbs in DC does not cover any weight loss surgeries.

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How were you approved? Was it self pay or through insurance? I have blue cross blue shield *** and can switch it up to PoS but was told bcbs in DC does not cover any weight loss surgeries.

I have BCBS CareFirst and they approved it. But you should call the HUHoffice and ask, they will help get any and all info you may need regarding your insurance.

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I have BCBS CareFirst and they approved it. But you should call the HUHoffice and ask' date=' they will help get any and all info you may need regarding your insurance.[/quote']

I have CareFirst too! Was yours through your employer or private?

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Anyone near nova that needs a workout buddy ? I was sleeved on July 10th . Been working out 5-6 days a week and it's always great to have someone else to workout with !

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Anyone near nova that needs a workout buddy ? I was sleeved on July 10th . Been working out 5-6 days a week and it's always great to have someone else to workout with !

I work in nova.. In Springfield.. I was sleeved on the same day as you.

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I work in nova.. In Springfield.. I was sleeved on the same day as you.

I live in Arlington & go to Xsport in Alexandria . Not too far from there.

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    • KeeWee

      It's been 10 long years! Here is my VSG weight loss surgiversary update..
      https://www.ae1bmerchme.com/post/10-year-surgiversary-update-for-2024 
      · 0 replies
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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
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      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
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    • BeanitoDiego

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    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
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